mouro

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mouro (“Moor”), from Latin Maurus (“Moor”), from Ancient Greek μαυρός (maurós, “dark”). With the meaning of goblin, probably from Proto-Celtic *marwos (“dead”).^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈmowɾo/ [ˈmow.ɾʊ]
• Rhymes: -owɾo
• Hyphenation: mou‧ro

mouro (feminine moura, masculine plural mouros, feminine plural mouras)

1. Moorish

   Synonym: mourisco

2. dark colored; dark purple; black
   • 1458, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros. Escolma de documentos en galego dos séculos XIII ao XVI, Vigo: Galaxia, page 191:

     Ena çidade d'Ourense, des e sete dias do mes de desenbro, Ano Domini Mo CCCC L VIII anos, ena praça do Canpo, estando y presentes Gonçaluo Lopes, Gonçaluo Peres de Reqeixo, juises da dita çidade, Vaasco Gomes, Johán Cortydo, Martín do Cabo, rejedores, Nuno d'Ousende, procurador do conçello da dita çidade, en presença de min o notario et testemuyas de juso escriptas, outrosy estando y presente Gomes Mouro, gayteyro, logo os ditos juises et rejedores et procurador diseron que fasían aviinça et reçebyan por vesiño da dita çidade ao dito Gomes, gayteyro, por todo tenpo de sua vida e que se byese morar á dita çibdade e que pagase de cada hun ano avynça ao dito conçello des e oyto mrs de moeda vella

     At the city of Ourense, seventeen days of December, Anno Domini 1458, at the Praza de Campo square; being present there Gonzalvo López, Gonzalvo Pérez de Requeixo, judges of this city; Vasco Gómez, Xohán Cortido, Martín do Cabo, councilors; Nuno de Ousende, representative of the city council; in the presence of me, the notary, and of the aforementioned witnesses; being also there Gómez Mouro [Black, Swarthy], bagpiper; then the aforementioned judges and councilors and representative said that they will do a covenant to accept the aforementioned Gómez, bagpiper, as citizen of this city for life, and that he should come live here and pay each year as fee to this council eighteen maravedis of the old coin

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. Moor
2. by extension, an Arab or a Muslim person
   • 1295, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, La traducción gallega de la Crónica General y de la Crónica de Castilla, Ourense: I.E.O.P.F., page 281:

     era a guerra conos mouros tam grande et tam cotiaa

     the war with the Moors [Muslims from Andalusia] was so large and so persistent

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. humanoid supernatural being that usually dwells in the netherworld

• The males are depicted as dark featured and pagans, and are considered responsible for the construction of most local archaeological structures (hill-forts, dolmens, cromlechs, barrows, etc) where they keep their treasures and can interact with humans at night or under special circumstances. Similar to a goblin or an elf. On the other hand, females are depicted as fair blonde women who are found sometimes by a fountain or spring, brushing their hair.

• Mouro (mitoloxía) on the Galician Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^gl

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “mouro”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “mouro”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mouro”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mouro”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “mouro”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

• Rhymes: -owɾu
• Homophones: moro, Moro (only with no /w/)
• Hyphenation: mou‧ro

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mouro (“Moor”), from Latin Maurus (“Moor”), from Ancient Greek μαυρός (maurós, “dark”). Doublet of Mauro and moro.

• moiro
• mauro (dated)

mouro (feminine moura, masculine plural mouros, feminine plural mouras, not comparable)

1. Moorish (of or relating to the Moors)

   Synonyms: mourisco, mouresco

2. (Northern Portugal, colloquial, mildly derogatory) relative to Lisbon or the South of Portugal
3. (chiefly historical) Muslim; Islamic

   Synonyms: muçulmano, islâmico

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. Moor (member of the Berber people of northwestern Africa)
2. Moor (member of the Islamic peoples who invaded Iberia in the Middle Ages)
3. (chiefly historical) a Muslim of any ethnicity; Mussulman

   Synonyms: muçulmano, maometano

4. (Northern Portugal, colloquial, mildly derogatory) a Lisboner or from the South of Portugal

• Macanese: môro

From Paleo-Hispanic.

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. (Iberian folklore) synonym of mouro encantado

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

mouro

1. first-person singular present indicative of mourar

• “mouro”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “mouro”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), São Paulo: 7Graus, 2009–2025
• “mouro”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2025
• “mouro”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “mouro”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “mouro”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025